This invention relates to a device adapted to float in a body of liquid in a basin or the like and to pump water or other liquid contained in the basin for the purpose of conditioning the water. One device of this type may, for example, be a floating aerator which pumps water upwardly from the basin and sprays the water into the atmosphere in order to enrich the oxygen content of the water, to scrub undesirable gases from the water or to cool large quantities of water for recirculation. A floating aerator is disclosed in Ravitts U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,729 and includes a float formed with a central opening through which the water is pumped prior to being sprayed into the atmosphere.
Another type of floating pump device is commonly referred to as a mixer or flow developer. A flow developer circulates water in a predetermined pattern beneath the surface of the parent body in order to effect mixing of suspended biological solids in the water, to mix different types of liquids or to provide anaerobic mixing.